


Prelude

by rtz684



Category: K (Anime)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 06:46:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11641152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rtz684/pseuds/rtz684
Summary: Before the child and the beer, before the loss and tragedy, before the Swords of Damocles and the great decisions... Ootori Seigo was a teenager, living an easy life with his group of friends.





	Prelude

The sky was pale in that cloudy day of summer. The sun had just set, and the twilight washed away it’s warm colours, leaving only undertones of pink and orange mixing with the slowly darkening grey. A peaceful scene to watch from the top of the hill behind the village, grass swayed softly by a quiet breeze. But young men, or rather, late teenagers had no interest to set on the view, chatting casually with each other beneath the last lights of the evening.

  
“College huh…” One of them said, sticking a hand in his pocket. “Seems a bit intimidating.”

  
“What are you saying Ryo?” Another responded, looking back incredulously. “College is were the real fun begins! I can’t wait to leave this place for Hakone. There’s nothing to do here.”

 

“Kaoru.” A third intervened, smiling jokingly “Rude.”

  
Before the blonde could answer himself, Ryo interrupted. “No, no, I’m not saying I don’t want to go or anything it’s just…” He made a vague gesture with his free hand. “...You know.”

  
“I know what?”

  
“By the way.” Running a hand through his brown hair the oldest spoke. “What do you guys wanna do today?”

  
“Dunno, Hotaro… Summer break seems never-ending this year.”

  
“Do you listen to yourself?”

  
“Hm… What do you want do, S-…” Kyousuke’s lips paused, and a light frown drew the boy’s features at the sight of his friend. He elbowed the other lightly. “Seigo. Hey, snap out of it."

  
Weak light streamed through the clouds, partially bathing the sitting figure of the fifth boy. He had been quiet for a while, only staring into nothingness with a distant look in his grey eyes. As if he was there, beside them, but also very far away. Seigo wasn’t particularly loud or energetic, but he always listened attentively and spoke with an optimistic spirit. However, lately he’d spent a lot of time with his head in the clouds, and it was a bit worrisome.

  
“…Seigo?”

  
The boy turned then, blinking out of his trance. “Eh?”

  
“Man, what’s wrong? You’re so weird lately.” Kaoru said, leaning past the other to take a look at the dumbfounded teen.

  
With an awkward expression Ootori gave a lopsided smile. “H-Hm…”

  
“It’s a girl.”

  
“…”

  
“…”

  
“Aaaah….” A knowing grin was sent his way, as Hotaro scratched his chin like some sort of evil mastermind. “I see what’s going on now.”

  
“Definitely a girl.”

  
The younger of the group found himself surrounded by playful faces then, and his lips parted, but he didn’t say anything. There didn’t seem to be a need for him to, as the rest continued regardless, questioning and teasing. In the end, Ootori settled for a half honest chuckle and let the matter die out. It didn’t concern him much whether his friends thought he had a love interest.

  
Or so he thought.

  
Turning back to the landscape the boy let his eyelids veil his eyes. Was there a name to this feeling? While partly he knew it had been his fault, Ootori had noticed the growing distance between him and the others. As if a glass wall separated them, one that he could hear through and he didn’t needn’t to touch through, but it was there, regardless. In the small town he had grown up into, these had been his closest friends from childhood. But why did he feel so different from them now? As if they lived in different worlds taking up the same space?

  
He turned his palms, and took a look.

 

Nothing had changed. His same hands, steadily growing, with the little wounds that he had gotten from playing around as a brat just like everybody else. He could remember the story each of them told, perfectly clear. Then why did it feel as though it wasn’t his blood running through his veins?

 

In love, somebody else caused these doubts and insecurities. Fluttering feelings, fantasies… Yet to Ootori there was nobody like that.

  
Glancing up at the sky, he looked through the clouds for answers. In the end, the boy gave a tiny smile. _I’m probably overthinking._ Because he was the kind to give his all when hard times came, Ootori tended to give little importance to minor things he couldn’t figure out.

 

“The city it is!” The conversation had continued outside of his thoughts and the boy caught on just as Kaoru took off the ground to grin at them, hands on his hips.

  
“I don’t know If I have money…”

  
“No problem, I’ll lend you some. With that my lost bet ‘s paid, right Ryo?”

  
“Like hell! That’s worth fifty bus rides at least.”

  
Everybody got up and patted they pants, getting rid of the dirt. In the end all eyes turned to him once more and a hand was offered.

  
“Don’t worry, we’ll invite the girls along.” The guys smirked.

  
“Wha-…” A blank smile drew Ootori’s features. “Wait. It’s Saturday, right?” He’d almost forgotten. “We have to go to Church tomorrow, we’ll get in trouble if we don’t sleep tonight.”

  
Ryo groaned.

  
“C’mon, Seigo. Don’t be such a killjoy.” Kaoru whined, finally grabbing his hand on his own accord and pulling the boy up.

  
“The idiot’s right." Hotaro grinned, ignoring the offended _Hey!_ he got for it. “Besides you just turned eighthteen on March didn’t cha? And we didn’t do anything cool to celebrate it either.” He then pumped his chest with a fist and turned to the other three. “Alright, let’s throw our buddy here a memorable birthday party!”

  
Everybody cheered. Even Kyousuke, the most quiet of the five, gave a little shrug and smiled Seigo’s way.

  
Well. Not like Ootori had ever been good at denying people things anyway.

 

* * *

 

She’d always been accustomed to the country, lived in the same little town for as long as she could remember. Yet unlike some her friends she didn’t long for another kind of life. The city was noisy, full of people, and everyone seemed to be strangers to each other in her eyes. She didn’t hate it, but… _It’d be nice if we could all stay together in here_  - those kind of thoughts would invade her mind once in a while.

  
The truth is, Miuna was shy. So when the boys called her over to go clubbing that day, she had to swallow down a negative. Even when she met them, her friends had been the ones to approach her. She’d been invited to join in and treated like a everyone’s little sister ever since. But soon, Ryo and Kaoru would attend college and Hotaro would get a job, or move. Things were about to change, and she had decided she needed to learn to make her way in the world on her own. Meet new people, and stand up for herself. That’s why she gathered her courage and agreed. In order to ‘let herself go’.

  
That had been the plan.

  
Miuna sighed, recalling her best friend’s words over the phone. _Sorry I can’t make it, uncle said we have to clean the church today and it is going to take long. Have fun without me, okay?_ No wonder. Rosalie and Ryo were the local priest’s nephews, and had been helping their uncle since they were little. But between the two, the girl had always been the most devoted. Ever since the old organist had died, she had been playing during the ceremony every Sunday and although it wasn’t for sure it seemed that she had decided to give up on studying to become a nun.

  
Ryo, same as herself, was part of the chorus. But neither of them excelled at it. Rather, the one who did was...

  
Miuna’s eyes raised across the room.

  
On the dancefloor, Ryo and Kaoru alterned between dancing, chatting and laughing loudly at Kyousuke, who was – was that really Kyousuke? - giving his all with some sick moves in the middle of the crowd. His face was red. Miuna had heard exaggerated stories from Kaoru about the other’s “legendary transformation” on a few drinks, but she’d always assumed he was teasing. Turns out he wasn’t. That such a silent boy could get like that… Her eyes diverged though, catching a glimpse of Hotaro’s back chatting with a girl at a way too intimate distance in the far corner.

  
And then finally Seigo, who was sitting on the side-lines, a drink left untouched on his lap and eyes drifting into the distance. Miuna blushed. Seigo had the voice of an angel. The first time she had heard it, not as part of the chorus but on it’s own, was when she had gone searching for Rosalie on a late evening inside the church. She found the two of them there, alone, her on the organ and him standing beside her, producing the most beautiful sounds to ever reach the girl’s ears. Their music mingled together in a soothing melody that rose up to the sanctuaries’ vaults, and to the heavens.

  
Since then, she had never been able to brush him without getting flustered, to see him laugh without her heart skipping a beat. She was standing at the other end of the club and quite frankly, not making much progress on her initial plans. So it would be fine to go over there and keep him company, right? Even if she didn’t make friends that night, being alone with him also made her nervous, so if she managed to make things work out it would still count as a win – she told herself.

  
Lots of squishing her way between the people later, the girl stopped next to him. Seigo looked up at her and smiled a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. She smiled back, patted her skirt, and took a seat beside him – leaving some distance between them, not at the other end of the bench how her coward mind was asking her to. Good.

  
For a moment, they stood like that, Miuna playing with her fingers and keeping her eyes adverted.

  
“Are you having fun?”

  
Seigo was the first to break the silence. While he he would allow himself to get lost in his thoughts when he was with more people, he wouldn’t leave Miuna alone in this situation. Ootori was always mindful of others, and good at reading people, so with her and her shy personality he was specially kind.

  
“Ahm… It’s just… Not my kind of place.” She mumbled awkwardly.

  
“Haha, yeah… Not mine either.” Grey eyes were fixed far away, on everyone and no-one. It wasn’t his typical grin either. He chuckled again. “Kyousuke’s killing it over there.”

  
“Hm.” Miuna looked back at their mutual friend. “I thought he didn’t like dancing?”

  
“We all did. Everybody thought he would end up vomiting if he did drink, the first time, and that he would wobble a bit on his feet when dancing, at most. He became Discosuke from then on.”

  
That did pull a genuine smile from the girl’s lips.

  
“I think he’s always had some kinda repressed personality though. You know… Rather than not liking these things, it’s like he’s too afraid of judgement. But he’s a really passionate fella.”

  
Miuna stole a side-glance at him. Supportive, observant, positive Ootori Seigo. Always volunteering to help, always there to listen. Miuna thought, that even if she hadn’t fallen in love with him, she would have still admired him just as much. He was the kind of person that made you feel grateful you could be beside him, and call yourself his friend. But…

  
“Is… Everything okay?” The girl asked, forcing herself not to look away when his eyes met hers. “I mean… Wouldn’t you normally be with the others, cheering for them and making sure no-one gets in trouble?” Seigo’s eyes widened just a bit. She had never come with them to this sort of place. Miuna blushed furiously. “I-I mean…!! Not like…!” Her hands moved the air desperately.

  
“… Woah, Miuna you’re pretty sharp.” The boy brightened up, rather than giving her weird faces, looking a bit impressed. _I’m not sharp_  Miuna gripped the edges of her skirt, wishing her blush away and knowing it wasn’t working _It’s just for you_.

  
“I-I was just… Never mind if I’m wrong… Sorry for jumping into conclusions.”

  
Silence prolonged between them. She could feel those grey eyes on herself, but wouldn’t dare to look back into them. The moment seemed infinite for her.

  
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Seigo looked away. “Actually…” He paused, seeming to deliberate how to voice his thoughts, if he should voice them at all. “I... Sorry, this might sound a little weird but... Don’t you feel... Different?” Miuna’s head raised at him. “As if something is changing, and you don’t know what?”

  
The girl pushed aside her shyness to consider those words carefully. “... Because everyone is making their own decisions, and it feels like the group will break? And you feel left behind?”

  
“No, it’s-...” Seigo stopped, and looked back the girl. Realization glinted in his eyes. And then his expression softened, with such warmth it muted the sound of the club’s music, and turned everybody else into faceless figures in Miuna’s eyes. “I don’t think the group is going to break. Is that worrying you?”

  
The girl breathed slowly, trying to open up her feelings and shut up the wild beating of her heart. “I don’t think it’s going to break... On purpose, but. Everyone is making huge plans for the future and... It’s a bit...” Her voice lowered to a whisper for the last part. “... Scary.”

  
Ootori closed his eyes. A few minutes of silence followed before words came between them, carefully chosen. “You do have a point... We can’t expect to keep seeing each other everyday, and play pranks all the time. The village... We won’t stay there forever.”

 

A pause. 

  
“But I don’t think that means it’s over. We will still meet and do stupid things when we grow up. Maybe not as often. And of course things will change, but... It’s just a continuation, not the end of an era.”

  
“What if we don’t have time to do that?” Miuna asked, her tone raising a little.

  
“We will find it. Somehow.”

  
“You can’t know that for sure!”

  
“I do.” Seigo’s kind smile hadn’t faltered. Miuna pressed her lips together. He set a hand over his chest. “I’m sure. I don’t know how, but my heart is sure of it. If it’s us, CATHEDRAL, we will make it.”

  
“But how?” Her voice was weak.

  
“Because.” His lips widened in a grin then. One so innocent, but so real, that suddenly it was impossible to believe he could be wrong. “God has a great plan for all of us together... Probably.”

  
What was that? Words that could be used to a assure a child it would all be okay, when they didn't know it would. So easy. But then why did she feel herself at ease from just listening to it? Was she that blinded by her feelings?

 

No.

 

It was because Seigo wasn't just trying to assure her. He believed, from the bottom of his heart, that it was true. Such an unfaltering faith, without a single trace of doubt. He wore his heart out in the open, spoke about his ideal dreams with such honesty it was contagious. Ootori believed so strongly that his words could heal a broken soul. She could not but give her own tiny smile back.

In that moment she decided she wouldn’t confess her feelings.

She had thought before, somewhere in the back of her mind, that now that everyone was parting ways she should be brave and tell him, before it was too late. Before she would regret it. .. _.I truly want to be friends with all of you_. She didn’t know how, but the very same way Seigo was certain that they would always be together, she was hit with the realization and he wasn’t meant to be hers. Ootori Seigo was destined to do amazing things, and perhaps one day he would do them side by side with a person he loved, differently, and above everybody else. But Miuna wouldn’t be that person.

  
This premonition settled in her heart, and it didn’t hurt her the way she would expect it to. She would walk along this man. And she would follow him on his way to do those amazing things. That was the way it was meant to be.

 

“Yeah...”

 

* * *

 

The sky was pitch black when the bus arrived home. Miuna jumped down the step, always mindful of her skirt, hands holding it down. Kyousuke had an arm over Hotaro’s shoulder and another over Kaoru’s - with their significant height difference - and he was blabbering nonsense while the later complained about his stinking breath. Ryo had his jaw clenched and looked like he was doing his best not to throw up on the pavement.

  
Seigo jumped down last, and looked in the direction of the others before waving at them. “ **I’m going this way! Don’t be late tomorrow, okay?** ” He said in a loud tone as the others were already moving in the opposite direction.

  
“Eh?” Kyousuke said, not having heard a thing.

  
“ **Sure! No problem dude!** ” Hotaro answered.

  
“ **SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, _GENTLEMAN_** ” Kaoru shouted even louder, wiggling his brows at the younger two. Hotaro hit him in the head. Seigo smiled fondly at his friends.

  
“Isn’t your house that way too?” Said Miuna.

  
“Yeah. But I don’t want you to go alone.”

  
The girl stared at the ground, embarrassed. “It’s not like anyone is going to attack me... I know everybody here...” She mumbled.

  
“Hm... Then.” That small grin again, lighting up the darkness. “Just say I don’t want to part ways with you just yet.”

  
Her cheeks reddened inevitably. _You are too nice_. When she had chosen to give up her feelings too...

  
The trip home was peaceful and quiet. She couldn’t help being overly conscious of the small distance between them, but she wasn’t a nervous mess anymore. The boy’s presence beside her was calming like nobody else’s was. Ootori made Miuna feel brave. If not for him she may have never voiced her fears. Perhaps if he wouldn’t have gave her faith, her own insecurities would have lead her to parting ways with the others, by herself.

  
That didn’t mean she would always depend on her friends. She was still scared, but determined to open up to new experiences. _Love does not separate, but unite us. Love isn’t to be divided between people, but to be multiplied for them._ That she would meet, and learn to love knew people didn't mean she would appreciate her firends any less. Seigo had said those words once, and she always held them close to her heart. Beautiful words in his beautiful voice. 

  
She wouldn’t regret the choice she’d made.

  
They arrived at the front door, and the girl turned around, facing him one last time before getting out her keys.

  
“You too, Miuna. Don’t be late tomorrow.” He said, smiling like a child. “Or Rosalie’ll get pissy.”

  
“I won’t.” The girl assured him.

  
“See you there then.” Waving, Seigo turned half-way, one foot on the top step of the stairs and the other on the next one. The girl waved back, and suddenly froze, her eyes widening.

  
“Seigo! Wait!”

  
Grey eyes found her’s, surprised. He waited for her to speak. Miuna retreated the hand that had unconsciously rose to grasp his shirt, but kept her eyes fixed on his. “Back there, at the club.... Even though we were talking about you, in the end I made everything about myself. I’m sorry.” She held her breath, expression unwavering.

  
It took a few second for it to sink in. “...Ah... Haha” Ootori scratched the back of his head. “We were, weren’t we?” Droping the hand he moved it in the air, taking importance off the matter. “Don’t worry about it, I was the one to change the topic first.”

  
“Even so.” She insisted. “About what was on your mind, about feeling different... Do you want to talk about it still? I have time. We can do it, if you want to.”

  
The boy thought it through. The words he had wanted to say, what were they? “...Y’know what?” He shook his head softly. “I’m actually feeling quite better after hearing you out. I think I’ll be fine.” And his smile definitely reached his eyes too, this time.

  
She searched his face for a lie, but didn’t find one.

 

Maybe that was just the way it was with him. Maybe it was helping others what made Ootori Seigo, Ootori Seigo. Not feeling different or distant. Miuna felt relieved at the words and nodded. "Okay." She smiled back.

 

"Sleep tight, Miuna."

 

"Hm. You too."

 

And just like that, they parted ways.

 

None of them knew back then, that destiny would keep their lives laced tighter than they could ever imagine.

 

 

 

 

 

A week later, Ootori Seigo awoke as the Grey King.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ootori Seigo and the original CATHEDRAL would keep sharing their days and dreams for the following ten years, when they would at last break apart, forever. 
> 
> None of the characers or events described in the story are canonical. None is it specified anywhere the time Ootori Seigo became the Grey King. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this piece of a fantasy of young Ootori's peaceful daily life.


End file.
